Love That Mouse

Photo Tours of Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, and Disneyland

2009-12-28T02:57:00.004-05:00

I've been really need a Disney fix lately. I think it was the holiday parade that did it...suddenly I wanted to be surrounded by ice cream carts and balloons with ears. Since our budget doesn't allow for spur of the moment jaunts to Walt Disney World right now, I decided to make do with a little faux-tourism.

I've created these photo slideshows on associated content, so I can slip into the parks whenever I want to. They're made up of photos that I took during my last trip down, when I knew I wouldn't be back for a while. Many of the photos are totally random things, but I feel like all of the randomness makes me really remember what it's like to be standing on those streets or in that lobby or under those bright lights.

I still have a bunch that I need to post, so I'll try to keep this updated. In the meantime, if you need a micro-vacation, I encourage you to step into my little world and check these slideshows out:

A Photo Tour of Disney's Hollywood Studios at Night
Photos of Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World (formerly MGM Studios) at night.
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A Photo Tour of New York Street at Night in Disney's Hollywood Studios
A Photo Tour of New York Street at Night in Disney's Hollywood Studios
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A Night Tour of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Photos from a night stroll around The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios
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A Photo Tour of Disney's Hollywood Studios at Dusk
Photos of the streets of Disney's Hollywood Studios as the lights begin to come on...
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Photos from the grounds of the Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Norway Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot
A Detailed Photo Tour of the Norway Pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the China Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase
A Detailed Photo Tour of the China Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase
A Detailed Photo Tour of the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase
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A Photo Tour of Epcot's United Kingdom Pavilion
Photos from the United Kingdom Pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase.
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A Photo Tour of Epcot's Canada Pavilion
Photos of the Canada pavilion in Epcot
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Walt Disney World's Boardwalk Resort
Photos of the details that make Walt Disney World's Boardwalk Resort such a lovely place to vacation.
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The Guest Areas at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom Lodge - A Detailed Photo Tour
Images of Walt Disney World's beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Walt Disney World's Beach Club Resort
These photos take you on a walk through Walt Disney World's beautiful Beach Club Resort.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Walt Disney World's Yacht Club Resort
This slideshow highlights some of the decorative elements at Walt Disney World's Yacht Club Resort.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Walt Disney World's Dolphin Resort Hotel
These photos walk you through the guest areas of Walt Disney World's Dolphin resort hotel.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Walt Disney World Swan Resort Hotel
This is a walk through Disney's beautiful Swan resort hotel, with a close look at some of the design details.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
This photo tour takes you into the lobby of Disney's Animal Kingdom lodge and walks you through the amazing areas available to guests of this beautiful resort.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of DinoLand U.S.A. in Disney's Animal Kingdom
This photo tour takes you into the clever details and amusing accents that create this fanciful land in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Maharajah Jungle Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom
This photo tour showcases the details and design elements that went into creating the Maharajah Jungle Trek attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Asia in Disney's Animal Kingdom
This is a detailed walk through the beautiful Asia area in Disney's Animal Kingdom.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney's Animal Kingdom
These photos offer a glimpse into the often overlooked but simply spectacular design details of Camp Minnie-Mickey at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Africa Area in Disney's Animal Kingdom
Photos from the Africa Area in Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World resort.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of the Oasis and Discovery Island at Disney's Animal Kingdom
This is a photo tour featuring some of the details that make the Oasis and Discovery Island areas at Disney's Animal Kingdom so special.
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A Detailed Photo Tour of a Room at Walt Disney World's Port Orleans Resort
This photo tour focuses on the details and special touches inside the rooms at Walt Disney World's Port Orleans Resort.
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Disney Stuff on Etsy

2009-12-06T01:41:00.001-05:00

I've officially contributed more Disney love to the universe by starting up a little project on Etsy...

Here's a peek at some of the stuff in my store:

Report: Disney on Ice Princess Classics

2009-11-14T13:04:00.003-05:00

Kyle and I took Ella, my little sister, to Disney on Ice yesterday. We usually go to Disney on Ice every year, since the show is always changing. Sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's kind of...enh...

This show was the princess classics, which sounds pretty awesome, but really just means that all of the princess stories will be condensed into 45 second bits of dialogue with a lot of skating and jumping and twirling. In the first half of the show (which lasted about an hour), we were told the story of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Mulan, and the Little Mermaid, with appearances by Mickey and Minnie and Tinkerbelle. That's a lot of stuff to fit into an hour, which meant that the plot progression went something like this:

(Lights come up with a spotlight on a single rose lying out on the ice. Belle skates out, does a lap, and then picks up the rose.)
Belle: What an unusual flower!
(Beast skates out, charging at Belle.)
Beast: Don't touch that! Do you know what you could have done!
Belle: I'm not staying here another minute!
Beast: Well, you shouldn't have been in the west wing!
Belle: Well, you should learn to control your temper!
Beast: I'm sorry.
Belle: Thank you for saving my life.
(Skate, skate, skate. Gaston suddenly skates out and runs into them.)
Gaston: Belle is mine! (Stabs Beast, climbs up the castle laughing maniacally, and then falls to his death)
Beast: Maybe it's better this way.
Belle: No! I love you!
(Beast skates off stage and reappears as a handsome prince. He and Belle do a lap, waving at the crowd, and then skate off stage. Stagehands bring on props for the next scene.)

I think the whole show is designed to keep the attention of four year olds, because there was constantly something different going on. It wasn't until the second act, when the whole story of Cinderella was told from start to finish, that all the kids seemed to get really squirmy and lose interest. So, while the adults were sort of confused by the manic pace of the show, the kids were loving it.

We only ran into two little hiccups. One occurred right after we got to the arena. Ella ran inside and was confronted with a merchandise booth on her left, a program vendor on her right, and a food stand directly ahead. Since Ella is barely four, this immediately induced a series of small circles as she ran around trying to see everything at once and started screaming, "look! popcorn Belle horsie doll cotton candy hot dog rose sword crown hat shirt Cinderella book shoes drink popcorn Snow White doll sword book drink!!!!!"

Luckily, she wiped herself out almost immediately and was content to just go and find our seats while Kyle was sent out to the world of merchandising. He returned with a bag of cotton candy, a princess crown with a set of ears attached, and a pair of Flotsam and Jetsom binoculars that were so cool I snuck them into my purse at the end of the night and basically stole them from my little sister.

The other hiccup occurred at intermission. Kyle had gone off to look around and Ella and I were finishing off the cotton candy when she suddenly looked at me in a panic and went, "I have to go POTTY!" I asked her if she could hold it and she shook her head and said, "NOOO!!!! This is BIG TROUBLE!!!" Well, I didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound good, so we hauled ass to the ladies restroom, only to find a line that stretched out the door.

This is something I had never considered. Here, I had this little girl who was in all likelihood going to wet her pants, but we had no way to jump the line because the line was made up of little girls who were all going to wet their pants. I suddenly felt very sympathetic towards every mother in the world, as I seriously considered letting Ella pee in the sink. Instead, I picked her up because she was hopping from foot to foot and there was no way that was helping and I ran her over to the mens bathroom and pushed her inside. I know, at four she's probably too old to do that. What can you do? She emerged happy and unscathed from the experience and for the first time I started to hope that Kyle and I have a whole lot of boys.

The end of the ice show culminates in the wedding of Cinderella and Prince Charming. All of the other princes and princesses (and Mulan for some reason) skate out as honored guests and everyone is wearing a wedding gown and then Mickey and Minnie skate out and they're in wedding clothes and there's this whole huge princess wedding number. Ella was totally entranced and I realized that between this show and the fact that Ella saw us get married at Walt Disney World, there's like a 2% chance that she won't have a Disney wedding.

My dad is in for big trouble in about twenty years, but I find the idea to be very awesome. I wonder what other children and I can convert to the dark side...

Disney Gone Wild + Wild Gone Disney

2009-11-03T13:27:00.003-05:00

Kim Kardashian managed to squeeze that whole "family friendly" aspect right out of her Disney princess costumes this Halloween. Thank you Kim, for using your celebrity status to totally confuse the dreams of little girls everywhere...

...and in related news, it has been proven that wearing a Disney costume can also suck all of the hotness out of a celebrity. Exhibit A: Gwen Stefani (one of the sexiest women on Earth) looking downright crappy in her Jessie costume.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

2009-10-31T02:51:00.002-04:00

My mom, circa 1959

Me, circa 1989

Enjoy the holiday and give extra candy to all the kids wearing Disney costumes to reward their general awesomeness. Don't forget to trick-r-treat on your favorite Disney blogs!

A Review of the Walt Disney Family Museum

2009-10-28T22:52:00.003-04:00

This is a reprint from The New York Times:

Exploring the Man Behind the Animation

By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN

SAN FRANCISCO — Given the heritage of the place, you expect to see a ride at the Walt Disney Family Museum, which opens on Thursday in the Presidio here. And in a way, there is one, since the museum does just what Disney thought a ride should do when he created Disneyland more than half a century ago: it tells a story.

And while the museum is almost leisurely in relating its narrative, only here and there veering into uncharted terrain, and while children will quickly pass by many sections that will fascinate their elders, there are more than enough thrills for everyone. Who needs Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Caribbean pirates, Matterhorn rides or a robotic Abraham Lincoln when the story being told touches the experience of anyone who had contact with the 20th century and its Disneyesque amusements?

The ride in question is, of course, just a walk, but it leads through 19,000 square feet of galleries in this new museum complex, a $110 million transformation of an Army barracks and two neighboring buildings, devoted to telling the story of Disney’s life and work. This might seem a bit secondhand, since it means gazing at original character sketches and animation notes for the seven dwarfs (Dopey: “Droopy effect in all clothing” or Bashful: “Head usually down, eyes looking up”) rather than seeing them Hi-Ho-ing into their mine. And it can hardly be said that Disney’s career is the stuff of adventure stories: he knew how to make cartoons and amusement parks, and he created companies that could do both. It is a life of relatively tame domesticity, extraordinary hard work and occasional controversy.

The motivation behind the museum did not seem to promise much more excitement. As the decades passed since Disney’s death in 1966, his daughter Diane Disney Miller discovered that fewer and fewer children had any idea that her father was more than a corporate logo. Some recent biographies, she said in a recent interview in The New York Times, also portrayed him and his marriage in an unflattering light. So the Walt Disney Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization independent from the company, decided to create a museum entirely devoted to Disney.

His personal archives are enormous, but major copyrights and important films and artifacts are held by the Walt Disney Company, so it lent the museum materials, including a two-story-high “multiplane” animation camera that was used to create three-dimensional effects for “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia.” A 114-seat theater at the museum will host concerts and screen Disney films.

At first, the museum (Page & Turnbull are the architects) seems to be precisely what it promises to be: a family institution designed to undo anything negative and celebrate the man. The lobby is really a large gallery given over to displays of Disney’s many awards, certificates and statuettes. They include Harvard’s honorary degree and the special Oscar designed for “Snow White” in 1938, but also minutiae like a plaque presented to Disney in 1959 during “National Want-Ad Week” commemorating the ad he answered in 1920 seeking a “first class man” to do “cartoon and wash drawings.”

But the impulse to put the rest of the family attic on display is resisted, and as overseen by the founding executive director, Richard Benefield (who had been deputy director of the Harvard University Art Museums), the Disney Museum is far from being an air-brushed portrait. While there are no hints of the domestic tensions described, for example, in Neal Gabler’s fine recent biography, and while there is much more to understand about the arc of Disney’s life and the frustrations of his final decades, his imagination was so capacious, his ambition so disciplined and his achievements so vital to the evolution of American entertainment media that he seems a natural force. The family movies on display show, at the very least, Disney’s childlike sense of play, particularly with his two young daughters.

Disney’s drive, the museum demonstrates, was relentless. Having mastered the basics of animation in the ’20s, Disney kept pushing at the possibilities. (The exhibition design, by Rockwell Group, helps provide a basic education in animation’s history.) In one of his earliest achievements, “Alice’s Wonderland,” a young girl visits an animation studio and falls asleep, dreaming herself into the cartoon world, mixing fantasy and reality, a vision Disney must have shared. Small screens show clips of Disney’s Alice cartoons, framing them within larger drawings, amplifying the playfulness.

Disney entered a new era with his first sound cartoon, “Steamboat Willie,” the third starring Mickey Mouse. We take it for granted now, but at the time the work meant selecting an expensive technology, developing a technique for coordinating music and image, and convincing distributors the cost was worth it. Nothing about it was easy: one wall contains an array of 348 enlargements of drawings from that cartoon; they constitute less than a minute of action.

And there were other challenges. Disney’s first company went bankrupt. His second, created with his brother Roy, was nearly destroyed by a jealous rival who lured away staff members and took over one of Walt’s early cartoon characters, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Out of that debacle grew the idea of Mickey Mouse, an insouciant creature whose pluck and autonomy must have been appealing in the wake of disappointments (those traits also found resonance with the temper of the times). A wall of display cases features Mickey memorabilia that will make collectors drool; it also shows how quickly Disney had figured out how to merchandise his characters, transforming the film business.

But if Disney had not been interested in character and story, this might have led to just an early onset of today’s merchandising fever. He was constantly running out of money, not because he was profligate but because he was a compulsive idealist, straining for something beyond the reach of common cartoons.

By the time he created his first feature-length work, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” he had transformed the very notion of animation. Disney insisted that cartoons literally animate their world, bring it so thoroughly to life that even inanimate objects would react to events. He pushed his staff to strain for realism (and sponsored drawing classes in his studios). But he was interested in something more than reality: even tables and trees would display character.

One of the most fascinating objects here is an enormous notebook created by Herman Schultheis, a technician in the camera-effects department in the late ’30s, in which he documented how images were produced in “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia.” Next to it, an animated display of the book responds to touch, so you can almost feel the creators’ imagination at work as they transmute real objects into fantastical washes of color.

The museum goes on to describe the animators’ strike of 1941, which so shocked Disney that after World War II, he became an eager witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee; the displays deftly present interviews with workers on both sides of the picket lines.

Other exhibits cover the war years, postwar live-action movies (like “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”), nature films and, finally, in an annex to the original Presidio Building, a gallery in which Disney’s own toy train is on display — one he rode around his property — along with a model of his original plans for Disneyland.

In that final gallery, the pace is quick, the detail slight. In barely the space it took to define the beginning of Disney’s animation revolution, we hear about his television work in the 1950s (like “Zorro” and “The Mickey Mouse Club”), the years of continuing films, both flops and hits, and Disney’s final fantasies of an urban utopia to be constructed just beyond Disney World in Florida; it was never built.

There is much to admire here (space is also devoted to Disney’s creations for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair and to the movie “Mary Poppins”), but it becomes clear that while his energy and imagination remained intact until his death from lung cancer at 65, the trajectory he mapped out in the ’30s in animation was left for others to explore.

He was a pioneer in packaging and synergy, but nothing else was to break artistic ground the way those early films did, and no animated movie ever got Disney’s full attention again. He was preoccupied with other things. It is as if a cartoon character had broken out of all celluloid constraints and decided to test its fantasies in the real world — Alice returning from Wonderland. Those efforts had mixed results, but it was an exceptional ride.

The Walt Disney Family Museum opens on Thursday at 104 Montgomery Street, the Presidio of San Francisco; (415) 345-6800, disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum.

Baby Einstein? Guess Not...Disney Offers Refunds for Popular Videos

2009-10-24T03:15:00.003-04:00

This is a repost from The New York Times:

No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund

By TAMAR LEWIN

Parent alert: the Walt Disney Company is now offering refunds for all those ”Baby Einstein” videos that did not make children into geniuses.

They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect.

“We see it as an acknowledgment by the leading baby video company that baby videos are not educational, and we hope other baby media companies will follow suit by offering refunds,” said Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has been pushing the issue for years.

Baby Einstein, founded in 1997, was one of the earliest players in what became a huge electronic media market for babies and toddlers. Acquired by Disney in 2001, the company expanded to a full line of books, toys, flashcards and apparel, along with DVDs including “Baby Mozart,” “Baby Shakespeare” and “Baby Galileo.”

The videos — simple productions featuring music, puppets, bright colors, and not many words — became a staple of baby life: According to a 2003 study, a third of all American babies from 6 months to 2 years old had at least one “Baby Einstein” video.

Despite their ubiquity, and the fact that many babies are transfixed by the videos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under 2.

In 2006, Ms. Linn’s group went to the Federal Trade Commission to complain about the educational claims made by Disney and another company, Brainy Baby. As a result, the companies dropped the word “educational” from their marketing. But the group didn’t think that was enough.

“Disney was never held accountable, and parents were never given any compensation. So we shared our information and research with a team of public health lawyers,” Ms. Linn said.

Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.”

The letter cited estimates from The Washington Post and Business Week that Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually.

The letter also described studies showing that television exposure at ages 1 through 3 is associated with attention problems at age 7.

In response, the Baby Einstein company will refund $15.99 for up to four “Baby Einstein” DVDs per household, bought between June 5, 2004, and Sept. 5, 2009, and returned to the company.

Lawyers in the matter refused to comment on the settlement.

Last month, Baby Einstein announced the new refunds — or “enhanced consumer satisfaction guarantee” — but made no mention of the lawyers’ demands.

"Fostering parent-child interaction always has and always will come first at The Baby Einstein Company, and we know that there is an ongoing discussion about how that interaction is best promoted,” Susan McLain, vice president and general manager, said in the statement. “We remain committed to providing a wide range of options to help parents create the most engaging and enriching experience for themselves and their babies.”

The founder and president of Brainy Baby, Dennis Fedoruk, said in an e-mail message that he was unaware of Baby Einstein’s refund announcement and could not offer further comment.

An outside public relations representative for Baby Einstein said there was nothing new about the refund offer.

“We’ve had a customer satisfaction guarantee for a long time,” she said, referring a reporter to the company Web site. However, Baby Einstein’s general “money-back” guarantee is only valid for 60 days from purchase and requires a receipt.

In contrast, the current offer, allowing parents to exchange their video for a different title, receive a discount coupon, or get $15.99 each for up to four returned DVDs, requires no receipt, and extends until next March 10.

“When attention got focused on this issue a few years ago, a lot of companies became more cautious about what they claimed,” said Vicky Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “But even if the word ‘education’ isn’t there, there’s a clear implication of educational benefits in a lot of the marketing.”

The Baby Einstein Web site, for example, still describes its videos with phrases like “reinforces number recognition using simple patterns” or “introduces circles, ovals, triangles, squares and rectangles.”

“My impression is that parents really believe these videos are good for their children, or at the very least, not really bad for them,” Ms. Rideout said. “To me, the most important thing is reminding parents that getting down on the floor to play with children is the most educational thing they can do.”

Disneyland Birthday Party Theme - It's a Small World

2009-10-22T00:57:00.004-04:00

Today's awesomeness is a repost from Nested...

Last year, moments after my daughter's first birthday party -- a Cuban theme blowout with catered lunch and rented palm trees -- I exhaustedly uttered a simple sentence to my family: "Next year is going to be a whole lot simpler."

Then something happened at Party City that changed my simple intentions: I saw the Sesame Street party supplies.

Now this isn't going to become a rant about consumerism and marketing to kids and how all products for kids should be as plain as brown paper sacks. My reason for disliking the party supplies is far more neurotic. I have a major issue with cartoon characters -- especially Muppets -- trying to look smooth or cool.

Anyway, the supplies in question had a too-cool-for-school Elmo staring at me with his arms folded. Like he's about to do a bro nod and say 'sup. As much as this drove me crazy, I put the plates and the cups and the party hats and the party bags in my shopping cart and reluctantly walked to the cashier. And then I turned around and put them back. Days later I was at the store again doing the exact same thing. I just wouldn't let myself buy these party supplies.

So here I am on Tuesday morning -- only four days before Penelope's party -- deciding that I was going to change the theme. And no, I'm not going to walk ten feet and pick Backyardigans or something easy and cute. Instead I decide I'm going to choose something Penelope has been crazy about for the past couple weeks since we went to Disneyland: "it's a small world". Something, I must add, has not a single purchasable decorative component.

I now had a party theme that required me to make all the decorations from scratch. Like the fable of the scorpion and the frog, it's just my nature to do this sort of insane DIYness. My vision for the decorations is pretty simple, however:

1. The colors are based on the attraction: lavender, baby blue, pink and white
2. I'll make a simple backdrop depicting the attraction's facade (to Pen it's the castle where "people sing songs."
3. I'll figure out something Small World-like to decorate a cake or cupcakes.

And that's it.

On Tuesday night I started the backdrop. I had contacted someone who had used "it's a small world" as the theme for his daughter's nursery and asked if he could send me a vector drawing of the facade. He responded within the hour and sent me the graphic he made. Although it was awesome, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for -- I wanted a completely flat representation of the building. So, I found an illustration of the ride online and then traced the entire thing using Illustrator.

Next, I printed out the finished graphic using twelve sheets of paper. I painted, cut and applied the pieces to a roll of blue wrapping paper. Then, I applied the finishing touches and added a bunch of glitter.

The cupcake toppers turned out to be an easier task than I imagined. I was originally going to find "it's a small world" people online, print them out and stick them in the cupcakes using toothpicks. It turned out to be easier than that because I remembered the one "small world" thing that could actually be bought -- these little scrapbooking stickers sold at Michaels. So I took the stickers apart and stuck them on a toothpick. Voila!

Paper plates, table cloths, napkins, etc. were all purchased at Party City and, if I had actually stuck to my above list, would have been done. And then, on Thursday morning -- on the way to pick up my mom from the airport and only two days from the party -- I had a crazy idea. Wouldn't it be great if I made little small world dolls for each of the kids attending the party?

And that's what I did.

I once again used Illustrator and traced two small world characters I found online. I used that as a basis for the other six dolls -- each doll representing an ethnicity of a child attending Penelope's party. It was a challenge to draw the six other characters but was actually quite fun. When I was finished I had eight vector images that I could resize and print out on iron-on fabric. Next, I ironed them onto coordinating fabric and then stitched them onto felt. They were stuffed with fiberfill and then closed up. I was incredibly pleased by how they turned out.

That's when I should have stopped but I had already decided that I wanted to also make the party hats and gift bags carry the theme of the dolls. So I resized the doll vectors and printed/glued them onto the white party bags (along with the child's name).

I did something similar for the party hats -- with the exception of just using the illustration's head. And because I was on some crazy crafting high I decided to also make little popsicle puppets for the gift bags and a mini coloring book with line drawings of all the dolls.

It all turned out great and my daughter seemed more than pleased to see her favorite Disneyland ride appearing in her dining room. Because I actually had fun with these crafts, I don't feel dread for next year. I'm ready to take on a different theme and will definitely have a three-year-old ready to share some of the work load.

Getting Ready to Go to Disneyland

2009-10-19T23:53:00.003-04:00

The husband and I are headed off to sunny southern California pretty soon, but we're only going to be in the parks for two days. We have park hoppers for both days and I'm sure that we're going to be there from opening all the way until closing time.

In preparation for our trip, I'm doing the usual things...double checking our reservations, digging out the official theme park bags, reading all the relevant guide books, etc. However, there are a couple of things that are different about this trip.

Kyle has never been to California Adventure, so we're going to be on unequal ground as far as what we want to do/see.
We're driving instead of flying, so I can take as much stuff as I can pack in our Jeep.
We're staying in a good neighbor hotel near the parks and we'll be surrounded by alternative places to grab dinner.
We have an eight hour drive each way from here to there.
We're not getting married or honeymooning or running a marathon or working there or going for job interviews or doing anything but being tourists.

It's oddly refreshing to realize that I can take as much stuff as I want and I don't have to worry about when I need to be where for what and what not. The funny thing is, with all of this freedom I'm not sure I know what to pack!

Here are the things we're taking for sure:

Guide book for Disneyland
Disney Visa Rewards cards
Lanyards and pins for trading
My Mickey Mouse croc flip flops (yes, they're a little unattractive, but so comfortable!)
My Sketchers Shape Ups
Our matching Mickey windbreakers
Our theme park bag
Cameras/video cameras
True lemon to put in our bottles of water
Band aids/blister ointment/neosporin/benadryl cream
???

What else do I need? Or am I already overpacked for a three day trip?

Sum of All Thrills

2009-10-18T23:19:00.004-04:00

This is a repost of an article from CNN about Epcot's newest attraction:

Disney debuts do-it-yourself thrill ride

Story Highlights
Disney opens an exhibit where kids create roller coasters -- and ride them
Theme parks are trying to make their rides more interactive, taking cues from gaming
The "Sum of All Thrills" ride opens Wednesday at Epcot Center in Florida
Kids design their rides on computers, ride them in a stationary robotic carriage

By John D. Sutter
CNN

(CNN) -- Any kid can dream up a roller coaster. But those who visit a new exhibit at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park can actually take a ride on their fantasy creations.

Epcot on Wednesday opened a new attraction called "Sum of All Thrills," which lets kids use computer tablets to design a virtual roller coaster, bobsled track or plane ride. After inputting their designs, kids climb into a robotic carriage that uses virtual-reality technology to help them experience the ride they've created.

"This is really the next generation -- where there's a lot more personalization involved" in the amusement-park experience, said Eric Goodman, Disney's lead project manager on the ride.

This make-your-own-ride approach appears to be a growing trend in the world of amusement parks and museums. Taking cues from the video game industry, park and ride designers have realized that people -- especially young ones -- want to interact with and even design their own thrill rides.

In addition to the new Epcot ride in Orlando, Florida, two Disney theme parks feature a ride called "Toy Story Mania," which lets riders shoot at targets as they roll down the track and, in doing so, shape their own ride experience. Another Disney attraction, CyberSpace Mountain, caters to adults and kids by letting them customize their own virtual ride from a menu of drops, loops and other features.

Universal Studios in Florida opened a roller coaster in August called the "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit," which lets people create their own personal musical soundtrack for their ride.

Interactive rides are in the "baby stages" so far, since roller coasters and theme-park attractions are so expensive to build, but interaction and personalization promise to be running themes in the industry, said Bob McTyre, president of Apogee Attractions, which has has helped design rides for Disney, Universal Studios and others.

McTyre was not involved in the new ride at Epcot.

He said theme park designers frequently bring up ideas such as roller coasters with three possible endings, allowing riders to choose which path to take.

But those big ideas quickly hit a roadblock: the high costs of implementing such a project, he said.

Shawn McCoy, vice-president of marketing and business development at Jack Rouse Associates, another amusement-park design firm, said this desire for interactivity in amusement parks takes its cues from video games.

"There's also a definite need to compete with video games or the gaming industry -- where [players] have control over all of the elements, from the environment to the players' movement," he said, noting that museums and zoos also are taking notice of the trend.

The "Sum of All Thrills" ride at Epcot employs a robotic arm -- more commonly seen assembling cars at an auto plant -- to let kids experience their roller coaster creations.

Sitting in a carriage with their legs and arms outside the ride, kids watch a video version of their ride while the arm moves them from side to side and up and down to simulate the feeling of a real roller coaster. Fans blow air at the riders at various speeds to give people the sensation that they're moving forward.

Goodman, the Disney designer, said the robotic arm and carriage come "pretty darn close" to replicating the real roller coaster experience.

Kids design their experience on touch-screen computers, using a digital ruler and pre-selected track options to construct their rides. If a person tries to build something physically impossible -- a hill that's too steep for the cars to climb, for example -- then they're asked to retool their ideas.

Disney hopes the interactive nature of the Epcot ride also helps kids learn that math and science can be fun.

"I think it's really empowering for the kids to realize that the math doesn't control them. They get to control the math," Goodman said.

The Raytheon Company, a maker of weapons and defense systems, said it sponsored the exhibit as a way to get middle-school aged kids more interested in careers in math and engineering.

Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon

2009-10-15T18:47:00.003-04:00

Look what just landed in my inbox:

Have you been counting down to this exciting race announcement! We wanted you to be the first to know that there is an exciting new race at the Walt Disney World Resort!

On October 2, 2010 the Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon will be run on a brand new half marathon course at the Walt Disney World Resort, and it will be run at night! Where else can you run a half marathon at night? Running through Disney theme parks and world-class Disney entertainment along the way will make the miles fly by, but what could motivate you more than finishing inside Epcot® to an exclusive after-hours party inside the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival? Culinary delights and specialty drinks from around the world await you along with an inaugural finisher medal!

One of the other really unique features of this new event will be a two-person relay team option for the half marathon. Hey, dividing up the 13.1 miles between two runners will be two times the fun and help you get to the party faster! Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend will also include a Health & Fitness Expo, Disney's Kids' Races and Mickey's Halloween Family Fun Run 5K. Friends and family will be able to purchase tickets to the exclusive after-hours Epcot Food & Wine Festival experience too!

This race experience will be the ultimate "Runner's Night Out". Mark your race calendars now for the race weekend with a party you don't want to miss - October 1-2, 2010!

Watch the race announcement video for just a taste of this new race!

Registration opens November 16, 2009 at disneywinedinerun.com!

I want! I want! I need! I need! I had a kick ass time in 2005 when I did the WDW half-marathon, but doing it at night sounds like even more fun. And an exclusive food/wine party afterward? Plus the option to split the half marathon if I need to?! Oh, c'mon!

I'm serious, you guys. This sounds awesome. I think I've found our next WDW trip...

Disney Paper Models

2009-10-14T01:57:00.003-04:00

I heart the Disney Experience...it just gives me warm fuzzies.

I never have had the time/energy/patience/ink to make any of the paper models that can be found for free on the site, but I love to stop by and look. The newest is the heart box from Snow White and I'm thinking it might be the one that makes me get out my scissors and glue...

Here are some more of my favorites: (Click on the images to be taken to the instructions)

Disney's Imagination Park

2009-10-13T01:44:00.003-04:00

This is a repost of an article from The New York Times (10/12/09):

Disney’s Retail Plan Is a Theme Park in Its Stores

By BROOKS BARNES

Published: October 12, 2009

LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Company, with the help of Steven P. Jobs and his retailing team at Apple, intends to drastically overhaul its approach to the shopping mall.

Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide, leading a tour, says, “It’s time to take risks.”

At a time when many retailers are still cutting back or approaching strategic shifts with extreme caution, Disney is going the other way, getting more aggressive and putting into motion an expensive and ambitious floor-to-ceiling reboot of its 340 stores in the United States and Europe — as well as opening new ones, including a potential flagship in Times Square.

Disney Stores, which the media giant is considering rebranding Imagination Park, will become more akin to cozy entertainment hubs. The chain’s traditional approach of displaying row after row of toys and apparel geared to Disney franchises will be given a high-tech makeover and incorporated into a new array of recreational activities. The goal is to make children clamor to visit the stores and stay longer, perhaps bolstering sales as a result. Over the next five years, analysts estimate that Disney will spend about $1 million a store to redecorate, reorganize and install interactive technology.

“The world does not need another place to sell Disney merchandise — this only works if it’s an experience,” said Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide. The company plans to unveil the new look in May in Southern California, Long Island and Madrid, and is close to signing a lease for that Times Square flagship.

Theaters will allow children to watch film clips of their own selection, participate in karaoke contests or chat live with Disney Channel stars via satellite. Computer chips embedded in packaging will activate hidden features. Walk by a “magic mirror” while holding a Princess tiara, for instance, and Cinderella might appear and say something to you.

It’s your birthday? With the push of a button, eight 13-foot-tall Lucite trees will crackle with video-projected fireworks and sound. There will be a scent component; if a clip from Disney’s coming “A Christmas Carol” is playing in the theater, the whole store might suddenly be made to smell like a Christmas tree.

The makeover happened only after much internal debate at the company. Indeed, some Disney board members fretted that the concept was so lavish that parents would try to use the stores as day care centers. Others worried that people would come for the entertainment but not buy anything.

“It’s time to take risks,” Mr. Fielding said he told them. “When consumers are ready to spend again, we will be ready.”

The involvement of Mr. Jobs, the Apple chief executive who joined the Disney board with the 2006 acquisition of Pixar, is particularly notable. For the first time, Mr. Jobs’s fingerprints can be seen on Disney strategy, in the same way that he influenced the look and feel of Apple’s own immensely popular retail chain. While Mr. Jobs did not personally toil on the Imagination Park concept, he pushed Disney to move far past a refurbishment.

“Dream bigger — that was Steve’s message,” said Andy Mooney, chairman of Disney Consumer Products.

Mr. Jobs provided access to proprietary information about the development and operation of Apple’s highly successful stores, and Disney executives visited Apple’s research operation in Cupertino, Calif. Mr. Jobs, who declined to comment, also insisted that Disney build a prototype store to work out kinks, a costly endeavor that most retailers skip.

The company followed his advice, working for the last year on a full-scale, fully stocked store inside an unmarked warehouse in Glendale, Calif. The prototype was crucial to shaping an overall philosophy, Mr. Fielding said, noting that he discovered the shops needed more “Pixar-esque winks and nods.” To that end, one sales area is now labeled “WWTD: What Would Tinker Bell Do?”

Disney will adopt Apple touches like mobile checkout (employees will carry miniature receipt printers in their aprons) and the emphasis on community (Disney’s theater idea is an extension of Apple’s lecture spaces). The focus on interactivity — parents will be able to book a Disney Cruise on touch-screen kiosks while their children play — reflects an Apple hallmark. Employees can use iPhones to control those high-tech trees.

Disney is a merchandising titan whose licensed consumer products generated $30 billion in global sales last year, up from $12 billion when Mr. Mooney joined the company a decade ago. But Apple is king of the mall. Its fleet of stores generated sales of about $4,700 a square foot in 2008, by far the highest for any retail chain, said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Company. In comparison, Best Buy's sales are about $1,000 a square foot.

The Disney board approved the Imagination Park concept on Oct. 1 after touring the prototype and receiving hand-made books from Mr. Fielding that pitched the concept as “the best 30 minutes of a child’s day.” Now Disney is bringing in landlords, trying to pit them against one another to secure top-tier locations and favorable leases.

“We will essentially be the only toy retailer left at the mall because everybody else has evaporated,” Mr. Mooney said. Mr. Fielding added, “Every mall in America is desperate for newness and freshness.”

The Disney Store chain, introduced in 1987, was initially so successful that the company overexpanded to more than 600 locations. Buffalo alone had five. But consumers overdosed on the animated-character merchandise and by 2002 the chain was losing about $100 million a year.

Judging the upkeep too burdensome and focusing on the safer licensing business, Disney sold the chain to Children's Place Retail Stores in 2004.

But Children’s Place failed to meet contractual renovation obligations and consumers complained of poor service, Mr. Fielding said. The vaunted Disney brand was in peril. “Let’s face facts,” he said, “some of those stores looked like a dog’s breakfast.”

In March 2008, Disney bought back part of the chain on undisclosed terms and the remaining stores, about 100 of them, were closed. A spokeswoman for Children’s Place declined to comment.

Dressing up a toy store with entertainment is hardly new. F.A.O. Schwarz has its famous floor piano, Toys "R" Us operates a Ferris wheel inside its Times Square outpost and American Girl jazzes up its retail outlets with theaters and doll hair salons. But the emphasis on programming — via the theaters, Disney is essentially creating a mall-based television channel — and the degree to which the media giant is pouring on the razzle-dazzle in every store is unusual.

The nation’s largest mall operator, Simon Property Group, however, said Disney might be overly optimistic about how far landlords will bend. “No one comes in here and dictates terms,” said Bruce Tobin, a Simon executive vice president.

That said, however, Mr. Tobin had pinwheels in his eyes after touring the prototype. “It’s truly spectacular — beyond our imagination,” he said. “These are going to be true destinations.”

The Happiest Photos on Earth

2009-10-11T22:44:00.005-04:00

When you think of all the time and energy and money spent on WDW vacations, it's always amazing to see trip photos that look like this...

And then there are those who go a little too far in the other direction...
Oh, who am I kidding? Like Kyle and I wouldn't get a super piratey picture taken the second we had the chance...

More Disney Love from Jules Bianchi

2009-10-07T01:45:00.003-04:00

Jules also did a family portrait session on Millie's 5th birthday and I am lovin' it. Doesn't it just make you want to take a professional photographer with you every time you go to the parks?

In fact, these photos are so much fun that...Kyle and I just booked a trip to Disneyland!!! We're heading down in about a month and I'm so excited because we've never been to Disneyland together and Kyle has never been to the California Adventure park. More details on our trip planning to follow...

(...Oh, and if any professional photographers are reading this...and they want to hang out with us...at Disneyland...and maybe take some pictures...that would be just fine by us!...)

Millie's been Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo'ed!

2009-10-05T16:58:00.003-04:00

Jules Bianchi, one of my favorite photographers, posted these great photos of Millie at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo salon for her fifth birthday. I think those salons border on being over-commercial and capitalist, but then I look at these little girls and all I can think is, "I want a princess makeover, too!"

Storybooks Galore!

2009-10-01T23:24:00.002-04:00

Disney has a new site called Disney Digital Books and it allows you to read Disney children's books online. It has older storybooks as well (including ones that graced the shelves of my childhood), so it's not just the mass market stories featuring the latest popular characters. The site also has a click-and-listen feature so kids can click on words and hear what they say, as well as a dictionary and a rewards center, so it's great for kids who are just learning to read.

I love this idea! I was a little skeptical at first, since I really loved the feel of real live books, but if anything this might get kids interested in these titles and excited to pick up their own hard copies. I'm also all for teaching kids computer skills, since it's so necessary in the 21st century, and this seems like a great place to get your kids started.

You do have to pay for a membership, though, so Kyle and I aren't signing up for it, since we don't have kids and don't think it would be worth it. Honestly, though, there are some titles that we would love to re-read and if these vintage Disney stories were available through the site, we "big kids" just might have to give this membership thing a whirl. Something to think about, Disney...

Volunteer for Free Tickets to a Disney Park

2009-09-29T23:48:00.002-04:00

Great news all around!

Starting on January 1, Disney will be trading free admission to a Disney park in exchange for a day of service volunteered at pre-selected organizations! All you have to do is register and give a full day of volunteering and *boom!* - FREE DISNEY TICKET!

I'm so on this, I can't even tell you. Kyle and I have been meaning to get into volunteering anyway. Leave it to Disney to inspire the crap out of us.

If you're inspired as well, check out Disney's Give a Day Get a Disney Day webpage so you can register and get ready to give back.

Dis-ign Challenge - 9/27/09

2009-09-27T10:19:00.002-04:00

How knowledgeable are you about the decor of Disney? Could you, say, name the restaurant that features this wallpaper?...

How about this floor?...

Hmmm, maybe the tabletops will help...

Got it?

If you guessed the 50's Prime Time Cafe at Disney's Hollywood Studios, you're right! I love the look of this place and the attention to detail is just unreal.

Luckily for those who love stepping back in time at this fun eatery, this look is fairly easy to replicate (or at least easier than, say, the Blue Bayou or Cosmic Ray's!). I think the Disney difference is commitment to the theme. Sure, you can get some retro chairs and tables from Target.com and scour flea markets for some knickknacks and vintage dishware, but to really commit I think you'd have to go the extra mile. Get that plaid wallpaper! Put down that pink linoleum! Retrofit an old television!

Has anyone out there brought this magic home? I'd love to see it!

The 16 Year Old Role Model

2009-09-24T12:05:00.002-04:00

Ok, I love Miley.

When all of that hype was going on about the Annie Leibovitz picture that came out, I felt really bad for her. I thought it was a tempest in a tea pot and people needed to calm down.

But what is my favorite little 16 year old role model up to these days?

I totally understand the desire to take sexy pictures of yourself at 16. It's not like she's 12. Do I think she should be posting photos like that on the internet? No, I think it hurts her image. But, since she's a teenager and she has a cell phone and she's allowed to do the occasional dumb thing, I suppose that's fine.

But who is letting her grind up on young men while on stage? And why isn't someone buying her pants that leave something to the imagination? And who gave her a POLE to dance on at the Teen Choice Awards?

Excuse me, Disney? I'd like to speak to Miley's manager about the whole jailbait campaign you guys are running. Because it's probably my least favorite approach to keeping Miley profitable.

Ever.

Adventures in Tonga Toast

2009-09-23T17:37:00.002-04:00

We have a whole bunch of Disney cookbooks that promise to show you how to make Disney quality food in the comfort of your own home. Somehow, though, we've never actually cooked anything out of these cookbooks. We just look at the pretty pictures and then lament the fact that we are geographically unable to obtain Walt's Favorite Chili.

I decided that it was time to venture into the culinary world of Disney, now that I have lots of time to cook, so I randomly picked a recipe that looked both easy and delicious: Disney's Tonga Toast.

The recipe reads as follows:

2 or 4slices of bread (sourdough or honey wheat), sliced thick
Bananas
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
oil for frying
Butter and maple syrup, if desired

Cut a pocket in one side of the bread slice. Remove peel from banana and cut the banana in half lengthwise and crosswise, so that you end up with four pieces. Stuff two pieces inside each pocket of the bread. Set aside. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Mix egg, milk, and vanilla until well blended. Heat about 4 inches of oil in a pan to 350 degrees. Dip the stuffed bread into the egg mixture, allowing it to soak for a minute. Fry in the hot oil until lightly brown, turning to brown both sides. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and serve at once.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Well...

Getting thick slices of bread was easy, since we live near a wonderful bakery that sells loaves of honey white bread unsliced. I picked up a loaf and cut it into nice, thick bread steaks.

I also sliced up the bananas quite nicely, first lengthwise...

...and then crosswise.

The next step, however, was a little tricky. It's harder than you'd think it would be to cut a pocket in a slice of soft bread and I mangled two of them before I was able to get the hang of it.

Harder still was that whole "put the bananas in the pocket" thing. Sure, it sounds easy, but the bread was tearing right and left and the bananas just didn't want to be in there. I finally got a couple of slices that had correctly filled pockets after a lot of trial and error. Looking back, I totally should have sliced up the bananas more. It would have made it a lot easier.

I pulled down a pan deep enough to soak the slices of bread in and then I added egg substitute (Kyle and I don't buy real eggs)...

...milk...

...and vanilla.

I squashed the stuffed bread pieces in there and let them soak...perhaps a little too long because they started to fall apart when I lifted them back out.

The recipe calls for a lot of oil, but I only used a little bit of olive oil because I was using a good nonstick pan.

And voila! Tonga toast.

Well, sort of. I mean, I guess it was tonga toast and it was ok, but it sure tastes a lot different when you aren't eating it at Kona Cafe. Kyle's verdict was that it was good, but Disney uses a lot more sugar. Le sigh...it might take a bit more practice before I can recreate meals at the California Grill.

D23 (minus one)

2009-09-15T20:24:00.003-04:00

Bad news, guys. I'm completely failing as a Disney fan.

I know! How sad is it to spend 26 years of one's life, to even start a blog dedicated to your Disney fan-ness, and then to wake up one morning and realize that you completely suck at loving the mouse. So sad.

You want to know how I know that I suck? Well, it's very simple really...
I missed the D23 Expo.

Missed it! As in, it came and it went and I wasn't there!

Ooooh, the humanity!

Last weekend, Disney fans came from all parts of the globe and they descended on Anaheim (my home town!) to show their love for all things Disney. And they were rewarded with sneak peeks and merchandise and panels and celebrities and...

Oh, it's too painful to even go on.

Kyle and I are D23 members. We were supposed to be there! We'd been planning to be there for weeks and months and even longer than that! But then, at the last minute, my husband had to work through the weekend. And I, not wanting to trot off to Disneyness without him, spent the weekend at home. In Utah. Where I didn't see a single pair of mouse ears.

There is nothing else in my life that I so consistently feel like I'm missing out on. Every time there's a sporting event or a special show or a holiday parade or a fan convention, I just burn with envy when I think about all of the people who get to go. And then I ruthlessly blog stalk them and steal all of their photos.

Hidden side to being a Disney fan: symptoms of panic and withdrawal at not being included in super awesome Disneyness. There is no known cure.

We Apologize for the Delay

2009-09-15T02:21:00.002-04:00

A short explanation for my long absence:

I launched this blog set more than a month ago (eep!) and haven't been heard from since. Why? Well, there were a few reasons. Some involve sort of a mess I got myself into with that last giveaway. As it turned out, some sponsors were less than happy that I had combined the giveaway by doing more than one thing at the same time, so I had to sort that mess out and while I was sorting it out, I decided to lay low so that the mess didn't get any messier. All winners have since been notified and contacted and double contacted and that's all finished, so congrats to those that won and better luck next time to everyone else!

Other reasons for not posting involve the little things in life, like losing my job and moving across the country, but since that's all pretty wrapped up now, we should actually get back on schedule pretty soon, here!

So, I apologize for not posting and look forward to diving back into the Disney. See you soon!

My Name is Carly and I'm a Disneyholic

2009-08-02T04:21:00.003-04:00

Welcome (or welcome back) to my Disney fan site. I tried to ignore it, tried to shelve the Disney-love, but at the end of the day I just can't contain my inner mouse ears...

In the posts to come, I'll be sharing thoughts and stories about being a Disney fan and how the mouse affects my life, but just in case we've got any new visitors joining us, I thought I'd do a quick introduction by the numbers:

One - the number of Disney weddings I've had.
Two - the number of Disneyholics living in my house.
Three - the number of years I've had a fan site about Disney.
Four - the number of times I've been to Disney On Ice.
Five - the number of months I worked as a CP at Disney's All-Star Resorts.
Six - the number of months I trained for the WDW Half-Marathon.
Seven - the number of days we honeymooned at WDW.
Eight - the number of Disney parks I've been to.
Nine - the total number of hats with mouse ears currently in our apartment.
Ten - I've got nothing, but it seemed so lame to end it at nine...

As you can see, I need help. I need an intervention. I need a 12 step program. But in the meantime, I'm just hoping to share some Disney-love with other fans.

See you real soon!

Four for a Dollar

2009-03-06T11:47:00.003-05:00

This is a reprint of a lovely tribute by Jensey of Root Photography:

Four for a Dollar : Final Bow

For years and years and years, Four for a Dollar charmed the ears off guests at Disney World's MGM (Now Hollywood) Studios. I grew up with this group, and would beg my mom to stay for just "one more show" when we'd vacation here throughout the year. Four for a Dollar was the pre-show to Beauty and the Beast, though most people I know would just go to hear the guys and then leave. :) Their show would start with one of the guys dressed as a maintenence man, come out and check the mics. Eventually they're all out there singing a 3 song set before heading off the stage. :) This quickly became my most favorite thing to see in the park, and no one was more shocked than I was (well, other than them, I suppose) to hear Disney had decided to end their relationship with this phenomenal group of men.

What once was a group of strangers to me and an easy way to waste an afternoon had turned into something much greater... One particular member of the group had become one of my dearest friends and forever changed my life. You see, Sammy has such an incredible love for God that it's impossible not to catch it just by being around him. Since joining the group, he's created a very successful church here in Orlando, and I'm proud just to know him. :)
This is Marshall, whose stage presence never failed to make me laugh!
And Doug, one of the most talented people I've ever come in contact with. :) I really think he's the soul of the group, and no one can take his place in the group.
I wasn't able to make the official final show because of a wedding, but I did show up the last show of the day before to take a few shots of them at work.

This is Andrew hitting keys most women can't. :) He was my first friend of the group, and I'll forever be grateful.
This show was my safe place when I first moved here, and the park has such a funny feel to me without it.
Final Bow.
Even though their Disney chapter has finished, I really do think this group is meant for so much more, and I'm so excited to keep on being their #1 fan. :)